Single-Family Home Construction Rises Unexpectedly With Boost From the South

Construction activity on new single-familiy homes got an unexpected boost in July, powered by a building surge in the South.

Single-family housing starts rose 2.8% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 939,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Tuesday. The July figure was up 7.8% from a year earlier.

In August, 66% of builders reported using sales incentives such as discounts or mortgage rate buydowns, up from 62% in July, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) / Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released Monday.

Meanwhile, the July construction data showed that multifamily starts, which tend to be more volatile, also surged last month, rising 9.8% from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 489,000. That figure was up 24% from the same month last year.

Multifamily construction, which fell to a 10-year low last year, has rebounded in 2025.

Combining single-family and multifamily, overall housing starts increased 5.2% monthly in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million units. Overall, permits fell 2.8% monthly to 1.35 million annualized.

https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/housing-starts-census-data-july-2025/